The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus, a receiving method, a storage medium, and a program, and particularly to a receiving apparatus, a receiving method, a storage medium, and a program which allow a user to view broadcast programs in a convenient manner depending on the features of a building and depending on the contents of broadcast programs received by a receiving apparatus installed in the building.
A receiving apparatus is known which receives a broadcast signal, such as a ground-based analog broadcast signal, a BS (Broadcasting Satellite) broadcast signal, a CS (Communication Satellite) digital broadcast signal, or a ground-based digital broadcast signal, and outputs video data and audio data of the received broadcast signal to a display or a speaker connected to the receiving apparatus. Such a receiving apparatus is used, for example, in a television set. In other words, a television set is constructed by combining such a receiving apparatus, a display, and a speaker in an integrated fashion.
If a user operates a dedicated remote commander (also called a remote controller), an operation command is transmitted to the receiving apparatus. The receiving apparatus selects a channel in accordance with the command received from the remote commander, and outputs a video signal and an audio signal of a broadcast program of the selected channel to the display or the speaker. Thus, the user can watch the program of the selected channel.
In digital broadcasting which is becoming increasingly popular, a very large number of channels are available. However, the operation of selecting a desired channel from such a large number of channels is a troublesome job for users.
To make it easier for a user to select a channel in a digital broadcast receiving apparatus, it has been proposed to register a set of favorite channels (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-165769).
It is also known to build a virtual channel which presents only particular programs specified by a user so that the user can receive desired programs without having to perform a channel selection operation (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-341596).
The conventional techniques described above are intended to improve the operability in selecting a channel in a receiving apparatus such as that used in a television set or the like.
The receiving apparatus and the television set using such a receiving apparatus are usually used inside a house or a building.
However, no technique is known which allows a receiving apparatus to be used in a manner adapted to features of a house or a building where the receiving apparatus is installed. For example, when a plurality of users reside in a single house or building, each user mainly uses his/her room almost exclusively. In this case, the receiving apparatus installed in each room can be adjusted depending on the preference of the user of the room such that particular channels can be easily selected.
No technique is known to drive (control) a facility in a house or a building depending on the content of a broadcast signal received by a receiving apparatus installed in the house or the building. It is known to automatically open and close a door or a window of a house. However, the purpose is simply to reduce the job performed by a user, and the opening/closing of the door or the window is not related to the receiving apparatus installed in the house.